47 Seconds - Rewrite
by BabyBirdAlways
Summary: Prompt: 'Castle and Beckett are stuck in an elevator together after they've just had a fight – pre couple – after 47 seconds.' This is a two part rewrite, as the name suggests, of my earlier 47 Seconds fic that got completely bombed out by (mostly anonymous) reviewers. Hopefully this one will be better received. Thanks for reading, as always.
1. Chapter 1

_N.B: As some of you might see, this is a two-part repost of my earlier attempt at a 47 Seconds fic that was totally bombed out by reviewers – mostly anonymous ones. I've completely re-written from what was chapter four onwards; hopefully this version will be better received. Thanks for reading (or re-reading, whichever it may be)._

 **47 Seconds**

They'd finally cracked the case. The bomb detonator had been activated by the reporter, of all people, and as usual it had been Castle who had put all the shards together to bring them to a conclusion. She couldn't help but steal glances at his sweet, furrowed brow as they all stood together, as a team, retracing each person's steps and working through the timeline... It wasn't just her and Castle who were in sync; they all worked in tandem, but somehow over the last day or two it had become obvious to Kate that Castle had taken a metaphorical step back. He was distant, throwing out thinly veiled comments – like the one in the interrogation room, when they'd finally got the reporter to confess. Something about... sinning by silence? She normally would have brushed it off as a pointed dig at the perp, but somehow the way he took a sideways glance at her as he said it, it was... Well. It was something, anyhow. It felt like he was pulling away.

After Gates' unnaturally praising debrief, the lack of tension in the bull pen was noticeable. Picking up her jacket, Kate knew she couldn't just go home and be alone after the stress of the past few days; there was an itching in her stomach, something she couldn't quite place, and it was always days like today that got to them and brought them closer together as a team in equal measure. As Javi and Kevin wandered over to her desk, she had an idea.

"You know what, I'm still kind of wired. Do you guys want to go out for a drink?"

Ryan looked up, almost regretfully, as if he were disobeying a direct order. "Ah, sorry. You know, it feels like a month since I've seen Jenny – I should really get home."

She nodded in response; it was logical. Cases like these always made them appreciate the warm embrace of their families that little bit more, so it made sense that he'd want to get home to his wife. She looked to Javi, hopeful that his lack of current squeeze would mean he was in for a few rounds of pool and some tequila shooters, but his response was similarly negative.

"Me too – I'm tanked. I'll holler at you."

Smiling at them both, she raised her hand in goodbye as they turned to gather up their things and leave. Well, at least she could count on Castle's presence... She looked to him and smiled. "So, I guess it's just us?" He was smiling too, but unusually it wasn't quite reaching his eyes, and his voice was hesitant.

"Uh... yeah."

She could see he was trying to hide something – she wasn't one of the precinct's top detectives for nothing, after all – but for once she had no idea how to try and coax it out of him. He'd only been acting strangely the last few hours, since they'd pulled Bobby in for questioning and he'd left for an hour or so. There was definitely something, though; maybe the relaxed atmosphere of their favourite cop bar would drag it out of him. Slipping her arms into her jacket, she picked up her wallet, phone and keys and faced him once again. "You know, now that the case is done, what did you want to talk about?"

He looked at her, all arms folded and head tilted, waiting for him to answer, and somehow he knew he couldn't give her a response that wouldn't reveal the anger and hurt he was feeling. He knew if he confronted her about it he'd either get incredibly upset or irrationally angry at her, and either of those reactions would be both out of his control and damaging to their friendship. As mad as he was at her, he didn't want to ruin what they'd built together, and although he needed space at the moment he knew he didn't want to face a day-to-day life that didn't have Beckett in it... He had to get out of there. Forcing his features into a smile, he shook his head as he replied. "Nothing. Nothing... important, anyway. I'm going to head home. Good night."

As he turned to leave, Kate's stomach lurched. The case was over, and yet he was still acting strangely... She needed to know why. Kicking her chair underneath her desk, she followed him as he made his way to the elevator. "Uh, Castle?"

He didn't stop, replying as he continued to walk towards the elevator, pressing the button and rolling his eyes a little as she skidded to a stop beside him. "Yup?"

"Castle – is... is everything ok? You've been acting strangely ever since you came back from 'clearing your head'. What's up?"

He closed his eyes and took a loud breath in. "Nothing. It's just been a long few days, that's all, and I'd like to go home to my daughter. If that's ok with you, Detective Beckett?"

"See, there it is again. You never normally pass up a drink with us after a tough case, and all of a sudden you're rushing to go home and calling me 'Detective'?!" She shook her head in temper. "Look, don't worry about it. You obviously don't want to talk, so we'll just ride the elevator down together and then you can go home, ok? God, I'm sorry I even asked now."

Castle's mouth opened, about to blow, but just as he was about to retaliate the doors opened and the loud 'ding' of the elevator rang out. Stepping in together, they both turned around and faced front, arms folded in a defensive gesture that neither of them consciously realised they were displaying. Kate leant to the side and pressed the ground floor button with her elbow, watching as the doors closed and staying looking straight ahead. Their silences were never usually uncomfortable, but this... god, you could cut the tension in here with a knife. How had they become so disjointed in one afternoon? This was going to one be hell of a long elevator ride.

Suddenly, the cabin ground to a halt with a nasty clinking of metal and a whoosh of air. Kate let out a "What the fuck?!" and stepped closer to Castle as the main lights of the elevator went out, her fingertips clutching around his bicep instinctively. They stood still for a moment, holding their breath and listening to the creaks and clanks as the cabin settled in its newfound position between floors two and three. The emergency lighting in the corner flickered once, twice, then stayed on permanently as they both exhaled in unison, neither of them really aware that they'd been holding their breath.

"Damn it." Castle sighed, shrugging her hand away from his arm as he stepped away from Kate, moving to the elevator control panel and pressing the 'Call' button insistently with his index finger. It buzzed back at him loudly until he heard a 'click' on the other end, and a very questioning "Yo?" that was unmistakably Esposito.

"Hey, Espo – what the hell is going on?"

"Castle?"

He looked to Kate and rolled his eyes in frustration. "No, it's the ghost of the elevator. Who do you think it is?! What's going on, dude?"

"Er… I'm not really sure. We were waiting for the elevator to come back up, we heard the buzzing and we pressed the button... Why you calling me from the elevator, bro?"

"Javier Esposito, for a relatively intelligent man you can sometimes be a complete wa-"

Moving quickly and pulling his finger off the button Kate took over, painfully aware that Castle's fuse was shortening by the second. "Hey, Javi, it's me. I think we're stuck between floors – we were riding down and it just suddenly…well, stopped. Could you call the super for me?"

"Sure thing, I'll buzz you back now… don't do anything we wouldn't do! Oh, and Beckett?"

She crinkled her nose and squinted her eyes in anticipation, knowing instinctively from the tone of Espo's voice that the ending of his sentence was not going to be particularly nice. "Uh… yeah?"

"Tell writer-boy I'm gonna kick his ass when this elevator comes back up. You hear me, Castle?"

Flicking her gaze up, she could see that Castle's jaw was tightening; it usually only got like that around the deep-fried-twinkie. She'd learned over the years that it was a sure sign of his temper being close to exploding, and she didn't trust that Espo's jokes wouldn't push him right over the edge. Not giving Castle chance to respond, she lifted her hand towards him and raised her index finger in a 'Shhh' gesture. "Just call him, alright Javi? Thanks…"

They heard Espo mutter his trademark "Mmmmm hmmmm…" before the click of the disconnect tone echoed around the cabin and Castle instantly turned on his heel, stomping over the far corner and sinking down onto his haunches. "Great." He sighed, dropping his head into his hands.

"Come on, Castle, it's not that bad. Espo will call the Super and he'll get us moving in no time… it's an old elevator; it just sticks now and again, that's all. And you know he's only kidding about kicking your ass."

He scoffed in return. "Yeah, and it just had to stick now, didn't it. Perfect damned ending to a perfect damned day…Oh, and incidentally, you know I could take him with one hand tied behind my back."

Kate suppressed the urge to snort - sensing his wounded pride - and simply padded over to sit beside him, answering his statement in her most placating tone of voice. "It hasn't been that bad, has it? We caught the bomber, and did some pretty fine detective work...?"

His head lifted to meet her eyes, his gaze as hard as steel. "It's not about the detective work."

"Jesus, Castle!" Her own temper was shortening now, and she had no desire to hide it when his behaviour was becoming more and more childish by the second. "What is your problem?"

He glowered in silence for a few moments, opening his mouth to respond just as the loud buzz from the speaker echoed around the cabin again. Getting up quickly, he rushed to press the call button. "Espo?"

"Yes, writer-boy, it's me. Looks like you'll have to wait a while for that ass whooping…"

Castle's features furrowed, his bottom lip crinkling into a comically fearful expression. "Er, why, what's going on?"

"Well, I'm not sure I should tell you, seeing as I'm such a complete wa-"

Kate's voice loudly cut in again from across the elevator, realising she needed to stop the children fighting in the sandbox before it escalated beyond reprieve. "Woah, woah, woah, Javi – just tell us what he said."

"He said they know it's stuck, and they'll get it sorted as soon as they can. But…" Espo's voice trailed off tentatively, almost afraid to repeat the last part of the message.

Kate sighed. "Javi, come on. Level with me."

They heard him exhale over the intercom, taking his time before he spoke. "He said they've had to call the outside maintenance company, and it'll be at least 45 minutes before they get here."

Stealing another glance at Castle, Kate could see that his jaw was clenching even tighter now. He sighed, breathing in and closing his eyes briefly before responding in a surprisingly cool tone. "Thanks, dude. Look, keep us posted if anything changes? And…Espo?"

"Yep?"

"…Sorry for being an idiot."

Javi chuckled. "No problem bro. I'd be mean if I was stuck in a tiny elevator cabin with Beckett too. I'll hold the ass whooping until you really deserve it… We'll keep you posted, cool?"

"Cool."

He rested his head against the cool metal of the control panel as he took his finger off the button, taking a few breaths before turning back around to Beckett.

"Phew."

She smiled curtly, deliberately ignoring his attempt at humour, her words clipped and pointed just as his had been moments earlier. "45 minutes."

He looked over questioningly, the tone in her voice surprising him. "Kate?"

"Don't you 'Kate' me. You'll apologise to Espo for being an idiot, but nothing for me?"

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not being an idiot, Beckett. I'm angry, yes, but then again…" He sighed, trying to keep the emotion in his voice under control. "I'm not the one hiding things."

"What are you talking about? I don't know what the hell happened on your little trip out earlier, or what you think you know, but it's all seemingly my fault so why don't you just come out and tell me? You've had a stick up your ass all afternoon, I have no idea why and I'm fed up of trying to guess!" She rose to her feet easily; fluidly, and made her way over to stand in front of him. Her body language was deliberately confrontational; arms folded, shoulders square, reminiscent of the way she squared up to uncooperative suspects when they just wouldn't play ball. He rubbed his eyebrows, thinking quietly, trying to decide on his hand.

"And that –", she points to his twitching nose, pressing her finger up against the skin in a jabbing motion. "- right there, is your poker tell. Spill it, Castle. I'm getting really pissed off now."

"You're pissed off?! YOU'RE pissed off?!" He laughed; a strangling, choked sound, forced and almost mimicking. "You have no right to be pissed off, Kate. You're the one who lied."

"About what?!"

"I heard you, Kate. In the interrogation room. And that was when I left."

She went quiet, her mind processing his words and trying to pinpoint what he was referring to, and then her breath caught on an inhale, producing a slight hiccup. She knew.

He swallowed, trying hard to keep the emotion down, trying to protect himself. He wanted to be angry at her, not hurt – he didn't want to let her know how much just those two sentences had cut his heart in two, had managed to shatter everything he'd believed in about their partnership. He felt so stupid, for being willing to wait; he'd given her patience, understanding, space, and she'd just thrown it back in his face without even realising. Steadying his breathing, he tried to continue, but she interrupted him.

"Castle, I… I didn't… I had no… -" He waved his arms in the air, scrunching his eyes and making negative gestures with his hands to stop her talking, the adult equivalent of what Alexis used to do as a little girl when she didn't want to hear something; metaphorically sticking his fingers in his ears and chanting 'la-la-la-la-la-la' very loudly until the unbidden noise ceased. Not exactly mature; but instinctual.

She reached for his hands, trying to placate him, but he shrugged her off violently and moved to stand behind her, unable to keep his body still. "Kate – just don't, ok?"

Her eyes filled with tears and she stood, as still as stone, as he began to pace the floor of the elevator behind her. "Castle, I can explain."

His arms leapt up again, and slapped down to his sides noisily. "How the fuck can you explain?! God, Kate, you really let the cat out of the bag didn't you. Did you want me to hear, is that it? You knew I was in there watching and yet you still said it, plain as day. Were you too chicken to say it to me yourself? How am I supposed to come back from that? You made a total jackass out of me."

She swallowed loudly; forced, still fighting back tears, and her attempt to damp down the emotion made his stomach jump. This was not how this was supposed to go. He didn't really know how he'd intended it to play out, but it most definitely wasn't like this. He didn't want to hurt her. He quietened his voice, trying to appear calmer but failing, and continued.

" I really thought we could have a future together. You know, I was willing to wait, but I've come to find out it was all just a big joke. You knew."

The words would have normally made her stomach flip, would have set the butterflies free, fluttering delicately around her ribcage, but they were too far in to this now and his words were laced with such vitriol it almost hurt.

"What?!" She spun around to face him, her eyes now sparking with anger.

He took one large stride towards her, leaning his head down so he could lower his voice. It brought them almost nose to nose, and with his strong, muscular frame blocking almost all of the emergency lighting she could only just make out the shadow of his face. "This whole time, you remembered. And you didn't say anything because you were embarrassed and you didn't feel the same way. You made me feel like such a fool, Kate!"

There was such pain under the anger of his words, she didn't know how to respond. Opening and closing her mouth, she let out an "uh..." noise, trying to find the words and to bat down the fear that was rising in her throat. He scoffed. "See, you can't even deny it. Why the fuck didn't you tell me, instead of leaving me hanging on a string for something that will never happen? Hell, Kate, everybody knows how I feel about you – and not through me telling them. They see it for themselves; it's in everything I do. Esposito laughs at how I bring you coffee every morning, just to see the smile on your face. Ryan notices how I look at you. How I look out for you. How I support you, every damned day and in each crazy thing we do together. And you? You can't even see what's under your damned nose."

He took a deep breath, his chin wrinkling as the anger quickly dissipated into tears he had to hold back. "I love you, Kate. That's not something you can choose to ignore until you feel like you want to deal with it!"

There was a heavy silence, punctuated only by their breathing. Castle's was strained and exhausted, full of emotion, and Kate's was light and quick – almost panicky. They stood, still nose to nose, as she tried to process the words he'd said, and more importantly, how he'd said them. She couldn't think of a suitable response; the temper and heat was rising in her stomach, licking flames up that caught and killed the butterflies. Looking upwards and into his eyes, she tried to speak again but failed, and Castle shook his head and rubbed his hand across his forehead again.

"See, you – you can't even respond. God, I'm an idiot..." He spun around again, facing the back wall of the elevator as his fingertips continued rubbing his eyebrows in pressured, stressful movements.

Kate stepped towards him, pulling his raised arm down and twisting him around before pushing him against the back wall in one quick, well practised self defence movement. Pressing her body against his she raised herself up on her tiptoes, resting her mouth over his as she spoke to him, almost stealing his air; heavy, and finally demonstrative.

"Show me."


	2. Chapter 2

Castle tried to push her away, still in defensive mode, but she sprang back almost as if she were on wires and pushed her body right back against his. Her fingertips danced a path up his neck, attempting to guide him to her for a kiss, but he was firm in his reluctance. "Kate – I -" His hands came up to her shoulders and held her apart from him, gripping her shoulders firmly, the span of his hands large against her slender body. "No. That isn't going to fix anything."

She blinked, tears of frustration falling from beneath her eyelids as she leant forward to rest her forehead against his, feeling the rush of his exhalation as he closed his eyes and sighed loudly. She spoke quietly; hesitantly, considering every word before it came out of her mouth, as if she knew this was the breaking point. It was now or never.

"I can't explain my actions, but I can explain the reasoning behind them. I was afraid, Castle. I needed time to recover, and not just from that fucking gunshot. I needed to process what happened between us; the trust stuff, and the fact that you, the person I depended on the most and opened up to the most, were a part of the whole 'deal for my life' thing."

He opened his mouth to respond, to defend himself, but she shook her head at him and frowned. "Castle you wanted an explanation, so let me give it, ok?"

He pulled away from her and shifted back against the wall of the elevator again, leaning against it and sliding down until his body was in a sitting position. Patting the floor with his open palm, he beckoned for her to sit beside him. "Ok. I'm listening."

Settling beside him, she started picking off imaginary threads and brushing away dust from her trouser legs, giving away her mental reticence and nervousness in her physical actions, and his hand came to rest on top of one of hers to still her movements. He looked at her, his tone essentially telling her to get the fuck on with it and open up already. "Kate."

She sighed in response, her hand trembling under his. "I've been in therapy, you know." His head spun sideways to look at her, his brow furrowed, and he twisted his body so that he was facing her.

"I did not know that."

She smiled. "Well, you wouldn't, would you, because I didn't tell you. I just knew I needed time; to put in the work and get the job done without making any excuses for myself, does that make sense?" He nodded, and she continued, her voice trembling.

"The only reason I was able to use that fact – that I almost died, and that I remembered every second of it – was because I've been working through it all, and the walls are finally coming down."

He blanched visibly at her choice of words; both because they were the same ones she'd used earlier, and because it always pained him to remember the day he so nearly lost her. Despite his protestations to the contrary, he still felt somewhat responsible, and he'd come to accept the fact that it would probably always be like that no matter what anybody else said. His hand squeezed at hers, and a brief smile played across her lips in acknowledgement as she used her sleeve to wipe away the errant tears still running down her cheeks.

"I don't know why I lied, at the start; it was automatic, and I think I was just afraid. We'd put all that happened those few days behind us so quickly because of the Captain dying, and even though I understood why you dealt with the shadowy guy, why you kept it from me, why you carried me out of the hangar, all of it... I was still angry at you, deep down. I trusted you implicitly, and it felt like you'd violated all the trust that we'd built up together. Our partnership is based on it, Castle, not on some stupid book you're writing, and I know you're smart enough to know that when a foundation like that is shaken, sometimes it takes a little while to heal those cracks."

He raised his eyebrow comically. "Now I know you've been in therapy. You've started talking like Dr Phil..."

"Castle..." Her tone was serious; warning, almost, asking him not to push her too far and he acquiesced, flapping his hands and muttering 'ok, ok" as he indicated once again for her to continue. "I didn't make a jackass out of you, but I'm sorry if that's how you felt, and I'm truly sorry that you had to find out that way that I had remembered everything. I didn't mean for it to happen like that; I wanted to tell you in my own time. But it's just taken me longer than I thought it would to get to a place where I could acknowledge it... It's a pretty big thing you know, Castle. Telling somebody that you love them. Especially when they've been through what we've been through together. You're not supposed to chuck it at them when they're about to die."

He swallowed loudly, another pang of guilt pulling at his stomach as his mind automatically flashed back to that day. "I just... well, you've just said it. I truly thought you were going to die, right there in my arms, and I just couldn't bear the thought of you not knowing. It's self aggrandizing, but I thought it might make you hold on, might make you feel better... I could do fuck all about the bullet wound, but I could tell you that I loved you and yes, selfishly, it was partly for me too. But most of all, I just wanted you to know how I felt. When Alexis tells me that she loves me it makes my heart flutter and jump, still, after all these years, even now she's all grown up. It never loses its wonderfulness. So if you were going, in that moment, I wanted to make you feel as loved as I possibly could. See, now I'm not making sense." He rubbed at his eyebrows again with his fingertips as Kate turned her body, raising up on to her knees to face him, his hand dropping to the floor as she moved.

"It does make sense, and I understand it, now. I was just angry, at the time, and the only way I could think of to deal with it was to run away... You know that's my specialty. Run into shit relationships, my mother's murder and my work, run away to my Dad's cabin for two months. I don't face things; I hide from them. Because I don't know how to deal with them. But that's beginning to change now, and I think it's for the better."

He smiled at her, his eyes crinkling sweetly. "It is **definitely** for the better, Kate." He raised his arm, brushing her hair away from her face, letting his finger linger just a little too long on her cheek but to his surprise, she didn't look or pull away. His eyes flickered down to her lips and back up again, catching her trademark 'pulling-her-lip-into-her-mouth-but-not-quite-biting-it' that always, always made his stomach turn flips and his knees go weak, and she smiled shyly up at him as she whispered, her lips making shapes as her breath danced across his cheeks.

"Castle?"

He smiled. "Hmmm?"

"This would be a nice moment for you to not push me away again, if I try and kiss you. Do you thi-"

Quick as a flash he dipped his mouth to hers, catching her words and swallowing them as he kissed her so tenderly yet so fiercely, she thought she might melt. A moan caught in her throat; a soft, sweet 'Hmmmm' sound that gave him goose pimples, and just as he slid his hand up to cup her neck, feeling her opening up to him as her body shifted imperceptibly closer, the loud buzz of the intercom rang out again. Their mouths parted, their foreheads pressing together as they closed their eyes and groaned in unison, in frustration, almost, but the buzzing was insistent.

"Never mind my ass whooping. He's got one coming now…" Castle muttered, sighing as he pushed himself up with his hands on his thighs as Kate sank back against the wall of the elevator, pressing her fingers to her lips. He made his way over to the front wall and jabbed at the speaker button. "Yes, Espo."

"Hey bro, how you two holding up in there?"

Kate snorted loudly before she'd even realised the sound had escaped, clapping her hand over her mouth as she suppressed another laugh that made Castle turn his head towards her quickly with wide eyes, making 'shut up' gestures as he tried to hide the smile in his voice.

"Er… we're good. Aren't we Kate?"

She smiled back at him, her eyes shining. "Always."

Espo was slow to respond, trying to make sense of the change in their demeanour from earlier to now. "Okayyyy…" he replied, his reply deliberately drawn out in confusion. "Just thought I should let you two know that the maintenance guy is here, and L.T is showing him to the control panel now. He said he just needs to reset something, and then it should be all systems go. Two minutes, tops."

Kate rose to her feet easily, coming to stand behind Castle as she leant her mouth towards the speaker. "Thanks, Espo. Next time I use the elevator, I'll be making sure I'm by myself so I don't get stuck in here with this chucklehead again..." Castle raised his eyebrows and looked to her questioningly, but his expression instantly softened when he saw the smile on her face.

Espo laughed loudly, muttering another 'Mmmm hmmm….' before the 'click' of the disconnect button echoed around the cabin again. Turning to her Castle opened his mouth, ready with a sarcastic retort, but she leant up on her tiptoes and hovered her lips over his, whispering quietly.

"Well, we have to keep up the pretence don't we… Castle, we have a lot to work through. But I think we're finally making sense of it now, don't you?" She smiled, moving to his side and reaching for his hand, squeezing it gently as the main lights of the elevator flickered back on and a loud clunk signalled the fact that they were finally moving again. He leant to the side a little, dropping his mouth down and pressing a chaste kiss to the top of her head before stepping away again to put the normal amount of distance between them. She looked at him questioningly, her eyebrows arcing upwards, but he just smiled.

"Pretence, remember?"

They faced front, and waited.

The familiar 'ping' rang out as the elevator doors opened, putting them back onto the precinct floor as Esposito and Ryan meandered over from their desks.

"Aw, you guys, you waited for us…" Castle quipped, lifting his hand to swat Espo on the shoulder, but met with a steely gaze his hand stilled in mid air, remembering that the promise of an ass kicking from earlier probably still held. He brought his fingers down lightly, pretending to brush off a piece of hair from Espo's jacket as he smoothed the fabric over, patting it and smiling meekly.

"Bro. Still two inches away from an ass whooping."

Castle gulped, his hands flying up in a surrendering gesture until he caught sight of Ryan's wide grin, looking back to Espo and seeing the same flickering of a smile hiding behind the faux-angry expression as he began to laugh. "Seriously, dude. You think I'd kick your ass because your mouth ran away with you a little bit? What do you take me for?! Oh, and the only reason we waited was because we had a little pool going on. Who hit who, and who threatened bodily harm first. Cause we know that you two won't have been playing nice like puppies in there, that's for sure…"

Kate smiled. "If I know you two like I think I do, I'd say that Ryan's going to be buying the first drinks because he's the only one trusting enough to bet against me being the one to threaten him-" she pointed at Castle "- with bodily harm first."

Raising his fist in the air in a triumphant gesture, Espo held his other hand out as Ryan pulled out his wallet with a dejected look on his face, slapping a twenty into his outstretched palm. "Sweet as a nut. I knew you wouldn't let me down, Beckett, that's my girl! Come on, let's go. Remys?"

"Definitely." Esposito and Ryan led the way, instinctively walking towards the elevator as they bickered like brothers. "But boys?"

They stopped, turning around to see Castle falling back in to step at Kate's side. "Hmmm?"

She smiled again. "Let's take the damned stairs this time."


End file.
